San Diego, SD - Nude Beach, Seals & Unstable Cliffs

Nude beach? Seals lying in the sand? A hike down crumbling cliffs with this intriguing sign challenging us to hike?

Hey, count us in. All in a day’s venturing around San Diego. Now, I’ll have to admit that we’ve hiked past the sign and hiked down to the nude beach (I’ve got the pictures to prove it - but not here) but, hey, we enjoyed them before, I’ll bet we’ll enjoy them again. They also make a good circle hike which we like better than an out and back so we’re off.

We began in La Jolla because it’s a good place to walk along the shore. It was high tide so we couldn’t walk along the beach as we usually do but we could wander from rock to rock higher above the beach. Lots of other tourists meandering around, too. Everyone wants to stop and see the seals. This began as a children’s pool for kids to enjoy getting into the water. But the seals found it and and the female seals began to flock in to have their babies. Crowded out the kids and now it is a real controversy in La Jolla. There are those who want to get rid of the seals, those who believe nature should have her way and count the number of seal pups born each year those pragmatists who realize that watching seals and their new-born bring in lots of tourist money. And, thus, no decision has been made which allows the status-quo to continue.

Lots of pelicans crowd the rocky shores here, preening, resting and posing for the tourists.

Next we headed out to one of our favorite places to roam around: Torrey Pines State Park, home to 3,000 of our nation's rarest pine tree - Pinus torreyana. It grows only here and on Santa Rosa Island off the coast near Santa Barbara. Pretty cool. You can tell where the prevailing winds come from by looking at the leaning on the pines.

But, it’s not just the pines which are spectacular here, it is also the sand cliffs, glowing in the sun. They are all shades of brown to yellow with shades of orange and rust thrown in. You can see where the winds and waters have changed their shapes and sometimes have eroded the cliffs. Rocks and sand piles at the bottom of the cliffs are great clues. And, some are quite recent. There are also lots of trails circling the park and one circles around finally heading down to the beach.

We parked along the beach at the bottom of the hill leading up to the park, climbed the hill, then meandered through the park trails and down to the beach, which we then walked along to get back to the car. Great walk, marvelous views of the ocean and the sand cliffs. Here is Gary at the bottom of the cliffs and you can see the boulders at the bottom of the cliffs which have tumbled down over the years. But, look at those marvelous colors in the sun.

Our next stop was the Gliderport which, because the wind was negligible, had no one taking off. Usually when we get here, there are lots of people hurtling themselves off the cliffs attached to their gliders or para gliders. they dip below the cliffs, then reappear soaring aloft. If you want to go with them, you can go in a double para glider. Nope, we haven’t done that yet - and, don’t hold your breath. We may have gone rappelling but I don’t see myself plunging off a cliff attached to a large kite.
But the great attraction at the Gliderport is not just watching the gliding but it also the trail next to it plummeting down the cliff to the shore below. Not your ordinary trail as the sign at the top warning of ‘Unstable Cliffs’ attests. But what a challenge this sign poses: avoid the trail and look like a ninny. I mean, who wants to look like a ninny? Not Gary and I.

But there’s more: at the bottom of the trail is not only a good surfing beach BUT also Black Beach, the largest nude beach in the US.

It was the first and only public nude beach in the country for several years in the mid-1960’s. Actually, north of the trail is the ‘clothing optional’ part of the beach, south is the surfer’s side of the beach. And, it’s fun watching the surfers clamber down this trail barefoot in their wet suits holding on to their boards. We hikers straddle the two worlds and hike down.

The trail is quite rudimentary and, although wooden boards have been inserted into the sand cliffs to use for steps, this is no guarantee that they won’t fall apart with use. You can see the wooden steps in the picture below (with Gary’s leg) and how well used they are. Some are there, some are not, some have sand in back of them to step on and some do not. In some places there is a hand rail but - inserted into eroding sand - maybe I’ll just try to balance by myself. This trail is traditionally maintained by the local nudists. Hmmm - I hope we don’t come upon a work crew any time we want to hike down.

By the way, the temperature is 62 degrees today - surfers, yes, nudists, no. There were surfers out in the water waiting for the perfect wave and every now and then one would find one. But no nudists today.

See what I mean about the deterioration of the steps? Here’s a picture from 5 years ago.

And, here’s a picture from today. The wooden steps have fallen down as the sand between them washes down the cliff to the ocean below. Are the cliffs unstable? sure enough. Will we hike them again? Absolutely.

At the bottom of the cliffs we walked along the beach. It was low tide so we could walk a long ways. Beach front property is always valuable but would you like to have this house at the top - after you’ve seen my pictures of what can happen to the cliffs?

We walked down the beach, found an alternate way to get back to the cliff and circled back to our car. Walking the rocks shores of La Jolla, through Torrey Pines and finally down the Gliderport Cliff to the beach - what a day. I can’t think of nicer places to walk and enjoy the beautiful shores in San Diego.